Thread: C++ Question Regarding Windows

I'm extremely new to C++ Programming, well to programming in general

Well, you really can't start-out writing a windows GUI program. There's a lot of overhead involved. A text-based (console) C++ program that displays "Hello World" is about 5 lines of code. The same windows program is about 50 lines! There are some simple example windows programs at www.cplusplus.com .

Start with the console-type tutorials here, and get a beginning book. I recommend "Teach Yourself C++ In 21 Days". When you're ready for windows,"Programming Windows" by Charles Petzold is excellent.

I am an advanced website designer and I have expierence in PHP, Flash, mySQL, etc.

Great! you can probably actually work through the "21 Days" book in 21 days! C++ is not the easiest language... I'd say at least twice as hard as basic... But, I think you can handle it.

does this become a windows based program?

You have to include the special windows functions and structures from the windows.h library. These are part of the Windows API. I think somewhere I read that there are about 1000 different WinAPI functions. (Nobody knows them all.)

If you have a windows compiler (Like Microsoft Visual C++) there is an option for creating a console application. These run in a DOS-like window, and will not automaticaly interact with the mouse, etc. The exe file is a 32 bit application and will NOT run in true DOS.

Can I share it with others and it will work fine for them?

Sure! The exe file will run on any windows computer if there are no bugs and it's compiled for the right version of windows. (There are WinAPI calls that work in XP, but aren't part of Win98.)